Side Effects

Research

Sam and Dean were simultaneously relieved and grateful for Stile's reaction finding out about the supernatural, he remained focused on trying to stop the witch rather than dwell on what he just found out. The Winchesters have relayed the information enough times to know what the results will be. Most go crazy or ignore it, but the very few accept the truth and challenge it, hunters come face to face with it.
Stiles reminded Sam and Dean of most young hunters they knew, he didn't run. Instead, Stiles asked how they going to do this whole hunting thing and Dean tossed him one of the many books he brought from the Impala and told him to he has some homework to do. Sam further explained how they needed a way to shield themselves from the witch, awkwardly referring to what happened to Stiles earlier. Stiles took the book and sped through it, asking Sam if he had anything he could write on in between pages, Sam gladly provided him with pen and paper and a small stack of sticky notes, basically what he usually uses when he reads off his books instead of his computer.
        Every male in the room kept busy, Sam did his own research on his laptop with his saved resources and Dean took their guns out of the car to clean, but also had a book on witches beside him to skim afterwards.
         Stiles was scribbling notes down every couple minutes, not everything pertained to their current situation, but Stiles hadn't seen a book like this before. While there were a number of books online of the supernatural persuasion, this book was like an entire bestiary focused on witches and other connected magical beings. The differences in lore between cultures was clearly explained and Stiles could feel his mind welcome this knowledge and store it.
So far, there was no mention of a witch that can control minds or anything similar to what happened to Stiles. Without the type of witch or spell she used, there wasn't a guideline on how to shield themselves from further attack. Without Sam or Dean's instruction, Stiles began to investigate why he and Sam would be important to a witch. Sacrificial spells were Stiles' first guess, but Stiles wasn't sure how he would apply to any of the sacrificial requirements let alone Sam. It was frustrating for Stiles, having realized the course of action they would have to take, going in blind and swinging.
While Stiles worked, he failed to notice the glances he kept getting from Sam and Dean. Sam looked up from his computer screen every so often when he hears Stiles scribble something down, half expecting a break through and half curious what he's actually writing if not an answer to their problem. Sam could also see a bit of his younger self in Stiles, when Dean and his dad first told him about what's really out there, he read and learned as much as he could about the terrifying truth. Dean looked at Stiles for the same reason Sam did, his furious scribbling of pen to paper, he looked in hopes of ridding himself of more research duty.
Dean is laid back in most situations at least more so than his younger brother, but with Stiles it wasn't as easy to just be his laid back self around him. Sure, he joked around a little with him, but there was a weird vibe sometimes, a familiar vibe Dean would get from fellow hunters that have seen to much in too little time. Dean's hunter instincts sense familiarity in working with a hunter while they worked with Stiles, but Dean's rationality chalked it up to being familiar with the focus Stiles was putting in, it was a level of focus hunters often had, the vibe was most likely courtesy of the kidnapping and now the magic spell and truth about the world.
Stiles couldn't pinpoint what made this witch they were dealing with different. First, he didn't get a chance to meet her which isn't that bad considering what might have happened if he had. Second, witches are known to have spiritual and nature-based power, there is basically no such thing as a mind control spell or anything of the sort. This also all came back to why Stiles was chosen in the first place, what could the witch gain from him if not Scott's pack? There's a nagging at the very back of Stiles' head that tells him the nogitsune, even without its actual presence, is at fault. Stiles has of course considered the possibility of what the nogitsune could have left behind in his mind, aside from obvious trauma. Stiles reached the end of the book and pushed it aside, post-it notes sticking out of each page every which way, and he sighed. This isn't Beacon Hills. This isn't about the werewolves anymore.